BLUE JAY. 



fills the air, and occasionally a clear, bell-like, three, 

 syllabled note catches the ear, which is very musical, 

 and sounds like this : 



flva. 



LJ f.j 



* Ge rul lup t ye rul- lujp! 



Again, a perfectly clear whistled but metallic- toned 

 octave strikes the ear, thus : 



Heigh* ho! 



On the whole, in spite of the confusion, and the harsh, 

 ringing jay, jay tones, which remind us of the bagpipe 

 whistle of the children's toy balloon, there is a decidedly 

 musical element in the Blue Jay's voice. He gives us a 

 perfect octave, and, perfect or imperfect, that is a great 

 deal more than the Bluebird can do. He is at once a 

 ventriloquist and a mimic, for he will readily copy any 

 tone he hears which tickles his fancy, whether it be a 

 squeaking cart wheel or the note of a thrush ; but he at- 

 tempts nothing which we could call a song. 



Ralph Hoffmann gives us an excellent sketch of the 

 Blue Jay's character in his Bird Portraits : " The Jay 

 in spring is undoubtedly a reprobate. He cannot resist 

 the temptation to sneak through the trees and pushes, 

 and when he finds a nest of eggs temporarily left by its 

 owner, to thrust his sharp bill through the shells ; even 

 young birds are devoured. In the autumn, however, he 

 is a hearty, open fellow, noisy, and intent on acorns and 

 chestnuts. The woods ring with his loud screams as 

 he travels through them with his companions. It is 

 amusing at this season to observe them obtaining chest- 

 nuts, a favorite food. They drive their powerful bills 

 into a nut, wrench it out of the burr, and then fly off 

 with it to a convenient limb and hammer it open." 



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